Intercultural communication skills in speech-language pathology students: A comparison of three instructional methodologies

This study compared the effectiveness of three information delivery models targeted at developing intercultural communication competence in speech-language pathology students. The instructional methodologies that were compared using a pre-test, post-test research design were guided experience, lecture/facilitated discussion, and print materials. While no method proved statistically superior in terms of knowledge gained, advantages and disadvantages of methods emerged. The guided experience group enjoyed a more robust, though not statistically significant, gain in test scores post intervention. In addition, participants in this group expressed a higher degree of satisfaction with the instruction. On the other hand, students in the group that received a pamphlet containing culture specific information expressed a greater gain in confidence for providing services to members of that specific culture and their knowledge gains required less of a time investment.